Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 3,328 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,328 shares during the period. CME Group comprises approximately 2.6% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $35,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CME. Second Half Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $2,737,000. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,823,000. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,891,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,074,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. Argus upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $195.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,225,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,849,831. The company has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $205.91 and its 200 day moving average is $208.87. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $179.44 and a 52 week high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.